A husband, a dog and a white picket fence: life’s good

Willemina has now been with the Department of Housing and Public Works for more than eight years, the last four years at the Chermside Housing Service Centre where she coordinates support for nearly 200 tenants.

“I love my job”, she said.

“Working with tenants and clients and being able to assist people, giving them the support they need is probably the most valuable thing because you walk away feeling like you’ve actually achieved something”.

But the spectre of homelessness is never far away, and its lessons remain as a constant reminder.

“In terms of a career I think it’s about having that resilience, being able to rise out of things that are really difficult”, she said.

“So even though life is extremely difficult, there are things that you deal with in the job that are really hard to take home, but I think that over time you start to develop an ability to get past them and be able to be positive about things.”

Life’s good now for 27-year-old Willemina, who spends her spare time renovating, reading novels on her kindle and “hanging out with my husband and our dog”.

The Chermside Housing Service Centre is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Watch Willemina's story

Last updated 18 December 2017

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